Kingdom of Denmark
Denmark '''(Danish: Danmark), also known as the '''Kingdom of Denmark or the Danish Realm is a Scandinavian country located in Northern Europe. The Kingdom of Denmark is the sourthernmost of the two Scandinavian countries, Sweden and Denmark. The Danish Realm consists of Denmark and all her overseas territories, including: Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, the Danish West Indies, and Danish Africa. The unified Kingdom of Denmark sprang up in the 8th century, and has maintained the same dynasty since the 10th century, making it the hold the oldest - still existing - monarchy in the world. The Capital of Denmark is Copenhagen, which is located on Zealand. History The Viking Era: The Viking Era is where the first unified Denmark arose. The Kingdom of Denmark would later be fully founded by Knut the Great '''who emerged as the Emperor of the North Sea Empire (an Empire stretching from southern Sweden to western England). Knut's Empire would not last long, as it crumbled upon his death. '''During the medieval time, Denmark would emerge as a major sea faring nation in the Baltic Sea, in a constant batle for dominance with the Kingdom of Sweden. During it's earlier years Denmark was on top of Sweden, and Queen Margarete I managed to get both Sweden and Denmark into a personal union, and for the first time in history unite the Scandinavian peninsula. During the later part of the medieval era, Denmark would fall of it's mighty horse. King Christian IV wasted the Crown's money on prestigious buildings and meaningless wars, which he would lose. This laid the foundation for the Swedish secession from the Kalmar Union in 1523. The 19th century was a disastrous year for the Danish Crown and it's people. The century would see a great amount of land, honor, men and colonies lost. Denmark was off to a bad start on the new century, being dragged into the Napoleonic wars. Great Britain attacked the Danish capital of Copenhagen and ended up losing almost it's entire fleet. The ships which weren't destroyed in the Battle of the Sound were taken away by the British navy. 6 years after the initial defeat to the Brits, the nation of Great Britain attacked and besieged the Danish capital, yet again. The British Fleet would bombard Copenhagen with rockets, killing up to 15,000 civilians. This is the first recorded terror-bombing on any major European city. The situation would not loosen for the Danish people in the following year. British occupation of the Dano-Norwegian waterways ended up strangeling the Danish economy, which would lead to the nation of Denmark declaring bankruptcy in the year 1813. The most devastating event of the early 19th century would be not the loss of the fleet, nor the destroyed economy. But the ceding of Norway to the Danish arch-enemy, the Empire of Sweden, at the Treaty of Kiel. Denmark kept the areas of Iceland, Færøerne and Greenland, which has always been adminstrated by Norway. The recent well-being of the nation would not last for long, as the Second Schleswig War would initiate. The war was fought between the Kingdom of Denmark and an Austro-Prussian alliance. The 38 thousand Danish recruits stood little chance against the 81 thousand well-drilled Prussian and Austrian forces, but the Danish generals believed the ancient defensive structure of Dannevirke would be able to withstand any attack, but truth be told, it had not been maintained for years, and was a rather poor defensive structure at the time. The war ended in complete defeat for Denmark, with German troops occupying the whole Jutland peninsula, and ending with Denmark ceding Schleswig-Holstein, accounting for a third of Denmark's territory and a population of ca. 1 million. This was a huge blow to Denmark, losing some of it's most developed areas. In the years from 1800-1870 Denmark would face the literate period off the Romance, known as Romantikken in Danish. This period would see the creation of some of Denmark's greatest philosophers and writers. Most well known are Soeren Kirkegaard (Søren Kirkegård), Hans Christian Anderson and Adam Oehlenschläger. The literate period focused largely on everything great about the world, specially for the common man. This was due to the recent losses of territories and overall ill state of affairs for the Kingdom, that the people needed to remind themself that Denmark was still great and prosperous. A lot of the Romantic works had roots in the viking age, as it's seen as the greatest Danish era. Today, after the losses of both Skånelandene and Norway to Sweden, and Schleswig-Holstein to Prussia, Denmark is a largely nationalistic nation, putting Danish value on anything. Nationalism spread to every corner of the nation, making the Danish people yet prouder and more patriotic of their nation. Denmark focused on developing it's territories and staying out of the European conflicts in the hope of avoiding another Schleswig-Holstein war. Geography Denmark is located in Northern Europe, and is an island nation. Denmark consists of over 500 islands, the biggest being the island of Zealand. The only part of the country which is connected to mainland Europe is the peninsula of Jutland, which has most of the mass of Denmark. Notable islands in Denmark are: Zealand, Funen, Northern Jutland, Lolland, Falster with more. Notable for Denmark is that it is surronded by powerful nations, while still being relatively irrelevant. To the north it borders the Swedish Empire, the the east the Russian Empire, to the south the German Empire and to the west the British Empire. 'The Danish Climate '''is temperate, and is often very cold, specially during the winter. There has been multiple occasions where the Danish straits and sounds have completely frozen over, allowing foreign troops to march over the waters. Due to Denmark's northern position, she experiences diverse daylight. The winter days are short, while the summer days last long. Regions '''Denmark '''is divided into 6 lesser regions (and one colonial region), with the purpose of maintaining an easier adminstration of the realm: # Capital Region of Denmark # Region Zealand # North Denmark Region # Central Denmark Region # Region of Southern Denmark # Artic Region # Danish Africa Trade League of the North Sea '''Main Article: 'Trade League of the North Sea. Denmark is a part of the North Sea Trade League, together with the Kingdom of Sweden, the Kingdom of Belgium and the United Kingdom of Great Britain. Denmark has granted access to all member nations in the capital of Copenhagen. All members of the European Trade League have agreed upon these conditions: * Free passage in the UK. * Free passage in Copenhagen and on Zealand. * Free passage in Belgium * Sweden and Denmark adopts the Gold Standard currency. * The UK, Belgium, Sweden and Denmark allow free trade. Leadership The Kingdom of Denmark is officially lead by King Frederik VIII of the Danish Realm and all her Possesions - also known as 'RedstoneAsassin' - but all diplomatic and internal decisions are to be passed by the Parliamant (Danish: Folketinget). Currently Denmark har 3 ministers: * Carsten Hansen: Minister of Iceland and Greenland * Jacob Estrup: Minister of Economy * Eidar: Minister of Production